Lazy Sunday
by ScorchedButterfly
Summary: I still miss Caroline and Kate, so I wanted to write a short story where they spend an afternoon together some time after the end of Series One. These characters belong to Sally Wainwright - unfortunately I am only borrowing!
1. Chapter 1

Kate lay on her back in the orange afternoon light of Caroline's living room, stretched out across the sofa with a red pen in one hand and a year 13 essay on romantic poetry in the other. Her feet were crossed at the ankles, and rested in Caroline's lap. Caroline also held an essay in one hand, and her legs extended in front of her along the edge of the walnut coffee table. Her other hand absently stroked circles along Kate's calf. They had been lying contentedly like this for hours, but as she continued to work, Kate gradually got the feeling that she was being watched. She fought the desire to look up, knowing that if she saw the glint in her girlfriend's eyes, there would be no more marking for the rest of the evening. "You're doing it again," she gently accused, eyes still firmly on the essay before her.

"How did you know?" Caroline asked, surprised.

Kate shrugged, "I can just tell," she replied absently.

Caroline smiled, "I can't help it. I like looking at you."

At this simple statement Kate smiled too, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Don't get any ideas. We've got too much marking to do." She dug a heel gently into Caroline's thigh to reinforce the point, "Keep your mind on the job."

Caroline let out a sigh but Kate refused to be distracted, desperately trying to focus on the words in front of her, and pointedly ignoring the hand that was travelling further up her leg. "I mean it, Caroline," she added forcefully, as the caresses reached her knee. The headmistress stopped in her tracks at the sound of Kate's best 9F classroom voice. Although she fell a long way short of being scary, the languages professor could take on a tone that all natural teachers possess - commanding authority without the need to shout.

Although Caroline's hand was stayed by Kate's warning, she couldn't help but continue to watch the woman stretched out before her, taking in her serene face, and the small wrinkle of concentration on her forehead. Caroline thought how lovely the younger woman looked, the summer light falling across her face, her dark hair swept up in a casual but neat bun, and most distractingly, a simple, white blouse that pulled tight across the swell of her chest, and moved gently up and down as she breathed. Finally, Caroline's eyes drifted over Kate's caramel coloured neck, and came to rest on the pulse beating at her collar.

The headmistress' mind started to drift from the, frankly awful, essay that she was reading, and began to consider instead the much more appealing subject of Kate. Caroline imagined, in great detail, some of the things she would like to be doing with this beautiful woman. Not one of them involved marking homework.

When she finally admitted to herself that her daydreaming had gone on for a slightly indecent amount of time, she dragged her gaze away from Kate and back to the books. Nevertheless, her mind continued to dwell on the younger teacher, and it struck her how little she still knew about the person with whom she had chosen to share her life.

"How many women have you been with?" the blonde asked suddenly, the words out of her mouth before she even knew she had wanted to ask the question. This time Kate's eyes left her work in spite of herself, flickering up to Caroline's face in surprise.

"You don't really expect me to answer that one do you?" she responded, a small smile on her lips.

Caroline peered at the brunette over the top of her spectacles. "Why not?" she asked curiously.

"Because there is no good way to answer that question," came the serious reply.

The headteacher laughed incredulously, "Oh I don't care!" she smiled.

"Ok," said Kate fixing her with solemn brown eyes. "Thirty," she answered, quietly.

"Seriously?!" Caroline exclaimed, shock evident both in her voice and in her slightly widening blue eyes.

"Mmm-hmm" confirmed Kate, lowering her gaze back to the page she was marking.

Caroline sat in a state of shock. She had always known that Kate was more experienced with women than she was, and she was certainly more comfortable with her sexuality than Caroline. Kate had always taken the lead when the older woman became nervous or unsure of things, which, the headmistress admitted grudgingly to herself, was probably more frequently than she would like. But Caroline had always believed that there was a pureness about Kate, something calm and ethereal, and that did not sit with the idea of thirty women and however many men crammed in around a six year marriage.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the sofa, Kate was enjoying herself. It was not often that she had anything over Caroline. In fact, the cool and collected headteacher always held all the cards, relishing complete control over all aspects of her own life, and by extension, Kate's. Caroline called and Kate came running. It was an arrangement that the younger woman had come to accept, although it still troubled her at times – the strange hold this gorgeous blonde held over her. Kate suspected it was because she alone seemed to notice the cracks in Caroline's tough façade. It was always blindingly obvious to Kate that the headmistress wasn't just a ball buster, but that she was often vulnerable and perilously close to falling apart. It amazed Kate that no one else could see it, and without even realising it, she had begun to see herself as some sort of protector, wanting with every fibre of her being to be close to Caroline, so that at least this magnificent woman wouldn't have to fight her battles alone.

 _Not to mention the fact that she's beautiful, funny, and clever_ , Kate confessed to herself. Still, it was nice to be the one in control for once. All the brunette had to do now was to sit back and wait for the other woman to crack. Out of the corner of her eye she could already see it happening – Caroline wriggling in her seat, trying to force herself to concentrate on her work. After a few minutes the blonde couldn't take the continued silence any longer, and she snapped shut the workbook she was marking. "Ok, I give in, how come thirty?"

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Kate triumphantly, also snapping shut her book. She drew her legs out of Caroline's lap and sat up straight, looking directly at the woman curled up on the other end of the sofa, "I told you nothing good ever comes of this conversation."

"It just sounds like quite a lot," Caroline responded, trying to keep any jealousy, or worse, judgement, out of her voice. _Although_ the headmistress thought bitterly to herself, _I'm doing her a favour not replacing 'quite a lot' with 'bloody loads!_ '

Kate let out a weary sigh, "Caroline, I was winding you up to make a point!" The younger woman flopped back on the sofa in frustration and picked her workbook back up. "It's five alright?" she offered, striking her red pen through something on the essay before her.

"Five?! Then why say thirty?" Caroline asked indignantly.

Kate shrugged, "I was showing you that nobody likes the answer to that question." She took a deep breath, "I know how this goes Caroline. Even if it's only five you are going to want to know if I loved them, and nobody ever likes _that_ answer either."

Caroline lied before she could stop herself, "I don't want to know that!"

Kate fixed the other woman with her beautiful dark eyes, and the headmistress got the uncomfortable feeling that her mind was being read. After what seemed like an eternity the brunette nodded cautiously, "Good," she replied, removing her gaze from Caroline's face, back to her marking.

The room fell quiet again, and Caroline tried as hard as she could to continue reading. It was on the sixth attempt to process the same sentence that she finally gave up, grudgingly asking the question that had been nagging at her since Kate had raised it. She broke the silence, inwardly hating herself as she did so, "Ok, so how _did_ you feel about them?"

Kate shot Caroline an exasperated look, "Are we really doing this?" she shook her head in disbelief and sat up straighter, obviously losing patience. "Ok, the first one started with a drunken kiss during my A-Levels, it was only a brief fling but it made me realise that I liked girls." Kate ticked the women off on her hands. "The second girl I completely fell in love with, and the third girl fell in love with me…which was terrible actually – it's almost as bad to break a heart as it is to have one broken." She stopped to tuck a stray strand of hair absently behind her ear. It was an action that Caroline found infuriatingly lovely and completely distracting, in spite of the serious conversation.

"The other two came after I got divorced. The first wasn't serious, and we both knew that from the beginning, but next one changed everything." Kate shrugged, "I was completely head over heels, and I got my heart broken so badly I thought I would never get over it." She fixed Caroline with a steady gaze and took a deep breath, "She was gorgeous, funny, and interesting."

Caroline tried to remain expressionless in spite of the irrational jealously that suddenly flared inside her. Kate continued, apparently oblivious to the blonde's reaction, "Of course she could be sarcastic, self-absorbed and infuriatingly stubborn too." She shook her head absently, "She drove me completely up the wall. She ran this posh school and she was my boss so..."

Caroline let out a shout of disbelieving laughter and slapped Kate across the feet with her book. "I can't believe you were talking about me the whole time!" she exclaimed incredulously.

The brunette threw her head back and laughed, "I'm sorry Caroline!" she said, affectionately poking the headmistress with her toe.

The blonde smiled and stroked the legs draped over her lap, but suddenly the smile faded and she looked the other woman full in the face, "No, it's me that should be sorry, Kate. I'm sorry that I messed everything up, and I'm sorry that you got hurt."

The younger woman sat upright, "I'm sorry we both got hurt," she replied simply, "but all things considered, I wouldn't change it for anything."


	2. Chapter 2

As the conversation ended Caroline could only sit slightly stunned, taking in the honesty. It was what she admired so much about her girlfriend. John had spent years lying about everything, and spinning more lies to cover up the ones that had come before. It had gone on for so long that Caroline had started to accept that deceit and secret keeping were just part of how relationships worked. She marvelled yet again at how refreshing it was to have Kate, someone so totally calm and collected, who knew completely who she was and was comfortable with it. Caroline looked across at the teacher, so beautiful even with - or perhaps partly thanks to - her slightly frustrated frown, and felt her insides melt.

"Now it's your turn," Kate pointed out, suddenly fixing the headmistress with a level gaze.

Caroline shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She briefly considered evading the question, since she was acutely aware how useless she was at revealing anything about herself. Yet in the face of Kate's honesty, she pushed the idea away almost immediately as childish and unfair.

"Only two, besides you," she murmured, fighting the inclination to look away, slightly embarrassed. Instead she raised her blue eyes defiantly to meet Kate's brown ones, "both when I was at Oxford." She took a deep breath and continued, "One was a girl I shared a house with. She had an on/off boyfriend so it only happened a few times after too many drinks. Neither of us wanted it to get too serious." Caroline shrugged and looked at the floor, "I suppose neither of us wanted to admit what it could mean, really. The second girl I fell for the first time I saw her. Even came out to my mum over her." She paused, and Kate watched emotion briefly cloud the freckled face, as painful events replayed themselves in Caroline's mind. The brunette noted the visible effort it took for the older woman to roughly push the feelings back down. "But it wasn't to be," she continued shaking her head slightly, "for lots of reasons. And then I met John, and the rest is history." She stretched her hands out to indicate a completed story, and smiled gently at Kate.

The other woman nodded, "Now can we please put this behind us before we spend the whole afternoon raking up the past?" she pleaded, stretching out into her previous position and wriggling slightly to find a comfortable spot. The blonde nodded too, giving one of the feet in her lap a gentle squeeze.

The marking continued, and this time Caroline really did try. Eventually she sat up straighter and put her glasses on top of her head. "About the woman you -" she began. Kate looked up, genuine irritation clear on her face this time. She put her book down on the coffee table and stood up.

"Ok Caroline, here's the thing. I'm not discussing this with you. Did I love them? Yes, some of them. Are they all in the past? Of course they are." She rolled her eyes and gestured towards the headteacher in frustration. "It's obvious to everyone - apart from you apparently - that I'm head over heels about you, much good it does me a lot of the time. Even my father has picked up that something is going on with me. And Caroline, this is a man who on a good day thinks I'm still 17 years old, and on a bad day thinks I'm a complete stranger." Kate shook her head in exasperation, _How can this woman be so brilliant, yet miss things right in front of her face?_ she thought angrily. "Since we first met I have only ever wanted _you_. Completely." Kate looked deep into her eyes to make sure that she was getting through.

She walked over to where Caroline sat, reaching out to remove the book from her grasp. She then placed both her hands into the headmistress' now empty ones, and stretched their arms wide so that she could climb into her lap. Straddling the beautiful blonde, legs folded on either side of her body, Kate placed a gentle kiss against her mouth. "You are not my first, Caroline, and there is nothing I can do about that," she said seriously, brushing the woman's hair away from her neck and leaning forward to whisper in her ear, "but you are by _far_ my favourite."

Caroline shuddered as the words ran through her, "Want to know why?" Kate continued, hands sliding under her gorgeous girlfriend's blouse and running over the warm and silky skin beneath.

"Mmmm," the headteacher murmured, partially in answer to Kate's question, and partially to approve of the new direction that their afternoon seemed to be taking.

Caroline reached forward to capture the teacher in another kiss. Her hands slipped under Kate's shirt, and she dragged her fingernails across the smooth skin of her hips. As their kisses deepened Caroline felt desire flare up inside her.

These butterflies, shivers, and longings were something she had resigned herself to never really feeling again after she started dating John. She had vowed to put marriage, children, and her career first, and in doing so she had consciously buried a whole part of herself. It always surprised her how intense her feelings for Kate were. After so many years spent pushed to the back of her psyche, she had half thought that they would remain closed off forever.

Suddenly, Caroline felt a stab of frustration as Kate pulled her mouth away, but murmured contentedly as the brunette began trailing kisses along her jawline. The feeling made Caroline shudder, and she firmly pulled the younger woman closer, needing complete contact with her body. The headmistress moaned softly as her hands slid over Kate's bra, and she felt nipples hardening beneath her touch.

"That!" exclaimed Kate, looking down at Caroline and feeling a sudden jolt of desire as she saw the need visible in the blue eyes and flushed face.

"Sorry?" Caroline replied, dazed.

Kate lovingly tucked her girlfriend's dishevelled hair behind her ears and explained, "That noise you just made. It is the sexiest noise in history, and it makes me want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life."

Caroline laughed, "A moan isn't a reason to love someone," she pointed out fondly.

Kate raised her eyebrows, "You wouldn't say that if you knew how it made me feel." She gently stroked Caroline's cheek, "Besides there are other things as well, obviously," she continued, arching an eyebrow suggestively.

"Like what?" asked the headteacher intrigued, clasping her hands around Kate's waist possessively.

Kate enjoyed the gesture and leant back slightly to rest in Caroline's grip, "Like when you look at me over the top of your glasses. Peering at me over your spectacles with that expression…It doesn't matter where we are, or how inappropriate it would be, it makes me want to drop everything and kiss you."

Kate's smile broadened as Caroline let out a genuine laugh, "Don't be ridiculous!" she exclaimed, looking at the teacher incredulously. "Kate, nobody in the history of the world has ever thought that reading glasses are sexy!"

The brunette shrugged and grinned, "Yours are," came the simple reply.

It was a statement so genuine that Caroline blushed. In truth, she did not know how to respond. Kate was always brilliant at saying how she felt, with a straightforward honesty that disarmed Caroline, making her feel like a fraud for being so terrible at articulating her feelings. Feelings that when it came to Kate she found almost alarmingly overwhelming.

Rather than fight to put this into words, she leant forward and trailed kisses along Kate's collarbone, trying to channel her emotion into those instead. She pulled at the buttons on the younger woman's shirt as she did so, revealing more caramel skin beneath.

"Do you want me to…" Kate began breathlessly, eyes shut, leaning back to expose more of her body to Caroline in spite of herself, "…make us some tea?"

Caroline looked up, fixing her girlfriend with a bewildered look, "That is not even _close_ to how I wanted that sentence to end," the headmistress pointed out, her outrage at the sudden turn of events clear in her voice.

Kate smiled and straightened Caroline's dishevelled shirt, being careful not to touch any areas that they might both find distracting. "I know," she replied reluctantly, then fixed the other woman with what she hoped was a no-nonsense look, "but we really _have_ got work to do." She gestured to the piles of books still ominously stacked across the floor, "and it definitely won't get done if I stay here for another second," she concluded, briefly brushing Caroline's lips with her own before standing up and walking towards the kitchen. Caroline watched her go, her flushed body cooling rapidly now that Kate was no longer in her lap, and feeling slightly peeved at the sense of emptiness that was left behind.


	3. Chapter 3

Caroline followed the languages teacher into the kitchen, and stood leaning against the doorway, watching her make the tea. As she took in the shape of Kate's body in her fitted jeans, and the pull of her shirt across her chest, the headteacher felt the need to finally open up, "You know, when I first fell in love with you, you were wearing that blouse."

Kate looked up surprised, usually Caroline only verbalised her feelings when she was hurt or a little jealous, and it was unlike her to reveal her more affectionate side.

"It was in a staff meeting and I spent the whole time trying not to stare at you."

Kate's eyebrows rose questioningly and Caroline sought to explain, "The second button down stretches slightly across your chest." The headmistress waved her hand vaguely in front of her own chest area to illustrate her point, but could not tear her eyes away from Kate.

"Oh God!" exclaimed the younger woman horrified, looking down suddenly and pulling the fabric away from her skin. "I'll never be able to wear this shirt again!"

Caroline couldn't help but laugh, "Oh you will!" she replied, peering over her glasses in her best teacherly fashion, "I'll insist on it."

She walked over to stand behind Kate at the counter, sliding her arms around the taller woman's waist, and nuzzling into her neck. "I was looking at you and I thought, S _he is so beautiful, I have to tell her_."

Caroline rested her chin on Kate's shoulder and sighed contentedly, "Then you cut that little prick Michael Dobson down to size. He was being his usual self, undermining my authority and being unbearably slimy, but just when I was about to snap and say something I was bound to regret, you stepped in and countered his argument in such a brilliant and polite way. And at that moment I thought _I love her for doing that_. Then it occurred to me, it was more than that – I just loved _you_ , full stop."

She gave the brunette a quick squeeze before pulling away to busy herself with the milk. Kate watched her, all brisk and business-like, hiding behind the façade that seemed to fool everybody else.

Not wanting to draw attention to the blonde's embarrassment, Kate tried - not completely successfully - to stifle the smile that threatened to beam across her face. She settled instead for grinning happily as she accepted her tea.

"Thanks," she murmured, raising the mug to her lips and watching the magnificent headmistress over its rim. They settled back against opposite counters, each mirroring the other, hands wrapped around cups and feet crossed at the ankles.

Brown eyes travelled unconsciously up Caroline's body, taking in the curve of her hips in her pencil skirt and the swell of her chest underneath her blouse. A jolt shot through Kate's navel as she reached Caroline's face and registered the desire in the steady gaze she encountered there.

She took a sip of her drink and searched for something innocuous to say, otherwise she was in real danger of grabbing the blonde and dragging her up to their bedroom right now. She knew that work was the answer - if anything could put a dampener Caroline's passion it was Michael _Bloody_ Dobson.

"I don't remember that meeting, but to be honest, I probably wanted to punch Michael as much as you did," Kate confessed with a smile. The older woman laughed, and the tension that had been building in the kitchen lessened.

Caroline blew on her tea, "Liar," she teased, "you've always been much better with people than I am - much more patient with them."

Kate blushed and the headmistress smiled faintly as she admired the effect of her compliment. She watched the pretty pinkness spread, drifting down from Kate's face, across her chest and disappearing under that _oh-so-distracting_ shirt. "You care, and it puts people at ease," she concluded affectionately.

Kate rolled her eyes, "You make me sound very prim and proper".

Caroline reached over and pulled the brunette towards her, "That's not a bad thing! Its not as if I think your boring." She brushed her nose against Kate's, "You have lots of _very_ interesting qualities," she whispered pulling them closer together, so that Kate's chest met hers suggestively.

The younger woman laughed and planted a kiss on Caroline's lips. "Oh, really?" she asked, slowly moving a hand up the headmistress' thigh, until her nails grazed the fabric at her hip.

Although Caroline had initiated the encounter, she found herself losing control of the situation, pushed up against her kitchen cabinet while the woman she loved scraped her teeth along her neck.

In a bid to regain some authority she put her mug down, freeing both hands to run over Kate's back, dropping lower until she grasped the teacher's backside possessively through the denim.

The brunette made an approving little noise against Caroline's neck, and smiled into perfumed skin, "Nice try Dr Elliott, but I know why you're grabbing me." She placed a kiss on Caroline's pulse point before continuing, "You need a reason to put down your tea before it spills all over your precious kitchen." She nipped the headmistress' neck, punctuating her point. " _Now_ which one of us is boring?"

The headteacher chuckled and placed her forehead gently against her girlfriend's, "I never said you were boring," she reminded her fondly.

Kate grinned mischievously, "Shall I prove how _interesting_ I am?" she asked, pushing her body into Caroline's more firmly. The blonde swallowed and slowly nodded, lost in deep brown eyes.

Kate whispered in her ear, "I'm going to take you into the living room, sit you on the couch, and..." She dropped her tone to a seductive murmur, " _make you finish your marking_..."

Pulling back from Caroline to appreciate the outraged expression dawning on her face, Kate grabbed her tea and sauntered out of the room.

A strangled noise somewhere between laughter and disbelief escaped Caroline as she watched the brunette leave, swaying her hips in what had to be a deliberately provocative move - nobody looked that gorgeous just _walking_ for Christ's sake.

The younger woman paused in the doorway and turned to face Caroline, enjoying immensely the effect she was having on the dishevelled headteacher, noting with pride the tousled hair and rapid breathing.

She stretched out a hand and the older woman crossed the kitchen to take it. Their fingers entwined easily, and as they walked down the hall she gave the blonde's palm an affectionate squeeze before releasing it. Caroline's hand, now free, snaked around Kate's waist, steadily sinking lower, until even the headmistress had to admit that it had become more of a grope than an embrace.

Kate laughed and pulled them both gently onto the sofa, "I mean it Caroline, marking first, bedroom after," she warned, handing her girlfriend a book and tossing her a pen.

The headteacher put on her reading glasses and peered at the brunette over the top of them, one eyebrow raised in a way that made Kate's insides clench. "I'm taking that as a promise, Miss McKenzie." she replied seriously.

And despite her previous attempts to distract Kate from their work, Caroline let out a happy sigh as the languages teacher grabbed an essay and curled comfortably against her. She placed a kiss on the top of her girlfriend's head, breathing in the familiar scent of perfume and shampoo. Suddenly an afternoon spent marking year 13 romantic poetry had never seemed quite so appealing.

THE END


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